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“There are certain people, whom certain herbs, the good digestion of disturbs. Henry the VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon because of her reckless use of tarragon.” – attributed to Ogden Nash

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Monday, April 19, 2010

Whoa, extreme closeup! Sorry about the slightly blurry image. I got the recipe for the cupcake, which in this case is closer to a muffin in consistency, from Martha Stewart'sCupcakes from 2009. She didn't say anything about frosting them, just showed them plain (granted, they are very pretty with the bright raspberries and the green nuts). But I ask, who made her queen? The frosting recipe is from Cupcakes by Carol Pastor, and it's to die for.

I knew I had to make these for my friend Keri when I first saw the recipe while researching cupcakes for my sister's 50th (na-na-na, I told) birthday bash. Keri loooooves pistachios.

Happily, I found a giant bag of already shelled pistachios. Because they came salted, I skipped the salt in the batter. I got 16 cupcakes out of the batter, one more than Martha. Again, na-na-na. I've noted my tweaks.

In a food processor, finely grind shelled pistachios with the sugar and salt. Add butter, vanilla and eggs; process until smooth. Add flour; pulse until just moistened and combined; do not overmix.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Gently press raspberries into batter, 4 to 6 per cupcake, and sprinkle with slivered or chopped pistachios if not frosting.

Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown, about 28 minutes (Check much earlier; mine were almost done at 20 minutes). Serve warm or at room temperature or cool to frost. After frosting, garnish with pistachio pieces and/or a fresh raspberry if desired.

In a bowl, beat the butter with about the half the sugar until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice and raspberry jam and continue to beat till smooth. Beat in the rest of the sugar until fluffy.

If you are unhappy with the consistency, add jam to thin, more sugar to thicken. I tend to use more jam -- and then more sugar to compensate -- because I like a strong raspberry flavor. This is great on chocolate raspberry cupcakes, too (recipe for those to come eventually). It's also great on a spoon. No, really.

I used a 1M decorating tip and a pastry bag to frost the tea cakes. I meant to garnish them with chopped pistachios and a fresh raspberry, but forgot. Next time.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

This recipe comes from Chinese Cooking Cantonese by Margaret Leeming. She notes that it's a modern version of a traditional Buddhist dish. I've modified it further to use more fresh vegetables and to make four to six servings. I also skip deep-frying the cashews. I don't think it loses anything but unneeded fat. The sauce is wonderful and very simple. I got strange looks from my husband when I once picked up my bowl and drank the remaining sauce like soup. He then offered me his. I'm not saying what I did. But you might want to have a spoon handy for more mannerly consumption.

You could easily substitute chicken, pork or shrimp for the cashews. The shrimp could be added near the end of cooking; the chicken and pork could be cubed, mixed with a little broth, soy sauce and cornstarch, and quickly stir-fried. Set it aside and add to the recipe instead of the cashews near the end of cooking. You can use bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, as called for in the original recipe, but I used summer squash instead. and added the corn. Use whatever vegetables you prefer, but be sure to add them at the right time in the cooking process for their density. You could also serve it over rice.

As with any stir-fry, have all the ingredients prepped before you begin cooking for a smooth process.

Mix the seasoning sauce in a small bowl until sugar is dissolved and set aside. Mix thickening paste and set aside (keep the spoon in it; you'll want to stir it again right before using).

In a wok or large skillet, heat 1 tbsp. oil and stir-fy the ginger and scallions for a minute. Add the peppers and carrots and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add asparagus stems and the squash and cook another few minutes. Stir in the seasoning sauce and bring to a boil. Add baby corn, asparagus tips and cashews and cook a few minutes. Stir in cornstarch mixture and cook just till sauce thickens. Sprinkle with sesame oil (optional; I forgot this time).

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Joe and my father love this dish. And I like it, too (a la Irish Spring soap commercial). I guess for them it's hard to go wrong with bacon, seafood and pasta. The recipe is from the '80s cookbook Better Homes and Gardens' Fish & Seafood. I've added my changes, which include using turkey bacon except on special occasions and cutting back on the butter.

It's an easy, simple recipe, and we always "mmmm" when we eat it. It's a handy pantry recipe because parsley is the only ingredient I might need to pick up.

In skillet, cook bacon till crisp and set aside (If you use turkey bacon, cook it in a little olive oil, which will pick up the bacon flavor, and use the oil in next step). Reserve 2 tbsp. drippings in skillet.

Cook onion and garlic in drippings until tender but NOT browned. Stir in butter/margarine till melted. Add clams and tuna, breaking tuna into chunks, along with reserved bacon, olives, parsley and pepper; heat through. Keep hot but don't let all the liquid cook away.

Meanwhile, cook linguine according to package directions; drain. Toss with hot seafood mixture and transfer to bowl for serving. Pass Parmesan so diners can top as they wish. If desired, serve with lemon wedges.
Serves 6.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

I often play with ways to flavor oatmeal, and this one was a hit. My friend Michelle made me promise to write this down when I made it during her recent visit, after an unseasonably cold night. She claims it's as good as ice cream. Riiiiiight. Not as good as Graeter's or Jeni's, anyway.

Stir together oats, milk and salt in heavy saucepan and turn heat to medium. Stir often, adding banana when cereal starts to get hot. Cook, stirring frequently, till oats are cooked, mixture is creamy and much of banana has cooked down, nearly disappearing into the oatmeal. That should take 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in sugars and cook another minute or so, scraping bottom of pan.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

I love everything about brunch; the time of day, the relaxed atmosphere, the foods. Especially the food.

For Easter today, I made almost everything ahead of time or at least assembled it to bake. I turned the ovens on as soon as we got home from church, filled 'em up, and got to relax a bit with guests for a while. Here are two recipes I used.

My favorite was the Nantucket Cranberry Pie, a tried-and-true coffeecake of sorts. It's easy and really tasty. It's especially nice for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it's too good to limit it to those holidays. It's one of the reasons I stock up on cranberries in season and throw them in the freezer for use all year.

My sister had tasted a friend's version, and when the friend neglected to share the recipe, she discovered it at www.foodnetwork.com. If, like me, you keep vanilla sugar or citrus sugar on hand, they work well in the filling.

The "Cheesy Ham Poof" has a name that's kind of embarrassing, and I think I originally called it a "cheesy, eggy, brunchy thing." But I confessed the real name, and we had fun with that. And it's good, so who cares what it's called. The recipe is from Clifford Wright's cookbook Bake Until Bubbly. I added the potato.

For the Topping:

Place the cranberries in a buttered, 9-to-10-inch pie plate (If you really like scraping yummy stuff off pie plates later, skip that step). Toss the sugar and walnuts over the berries.

For the Topping:

Cream the eggs and the butter with the sugar. Add the flour and almond extract to the mixture, lightly stirring

with a fork just till combined. Spread the topping over the cranberry mixture and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, till golden and set. If desired, serve warm with whipped cream (I've never done that, and it's fine plain and at room temperature).

In an electric mixer bowl, beat the eggs for 1 minute. Stir in the flour and baking powder. Beat in cream cheese and then cottage cheese. Slowly beat in the milk. Add the ham, cheddar cheese, butter, scallions parsley, paprika, salt and pepper. Continue mixing until well blended, about 3 minutes at medium speed.

Transfer to the casserole and bake until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean and the top is golden brown, 50 to 60 minutes (start checking at 45 minutes).Serve warm. (Clifford Wright suggests in his cookbook to serve leftovers cold, cut in small squares, for an appetizer similar to the Spanish tapa called a tortilla).

*If doubling recipe, use 13-by-9 baking dish. It takes about the same time to bake.